HP Mosaic for SmartStream Designer: Generating One-of-a-Kind Graphics for Variable Data Campaigns Patent-pending HP (Booth 1202) Mosaic is a dynamic personalization application of HP SmartStream Designer for Adobe Creative Cloud. HP Mosaic takes traditional variable data print (VDP) to the next level by using controlled hyper variability to produce millions of unique, reproducible graphic designs for mailers, labels, packaging, flyers, signs, billboards, and more. With HP Mosaic, VDP moves beyond substituting text, static photos, and messages. It enables each printed piece to be unique and distinctive from the next. HP Mosaic was the technology behind Diet Coke’s “Extraordinary” campaign in Israel. The campaign leveraged HP Mosaic to produce 2 million unique Diet Coke bottles and give Diet Coke fans the opportunity to create their own personalized gear, including t-shirts, mugs, and mobile phone cases, to match their unique bottle. Coca-Cola attributes a double digit sales increase to the campaign. HP Mosaic combines, scales, transposes, and rotates high-resolution base design patterns to create limitless unique variations. The output files can be generated in high volumes and used as variable image assets in the graphic design of VDP jobs. Any print service provider that uses HP SmartStream creation and submission solutions and HP Indigo digital presses can achieve infinite designs easily with no need for an army of designers. Once the base patterns are developed, the automated software handles all the processing. For best results, the base designs should be complex, with a lot of detail and color. The more complex and colorful the original file, the better the results. HP Mosaic is included free in HP SmartStream Designer 6.3 for Adobe InDesign CS6 and HP SmartStream Designer 10.1 for Adobe InDesign CC 2014 and later. The Key to Accurate Color Viewing What do a photographer, commercial printer, and sign printer have in common? They all need to accurately communicate color. When they carry out this objective consistently and accurately they are providing a high level of value to their clients and increasing the efficiency of their business. Reproducing color accurately is a complicated process, especially when different substrates, technologies, and production facilities are involved. To ensure that accuracy is achieved, viewing comparisons across the supply chain should be made in viewing conditions that comply with the ISO 3664:2009 standard. ISO 3664:2009 is the international color viewing standard for the graphic technology and photography industries. It is a set of specifications that enables lighting engineers and manufacturers to design, test, and certify their color viewing systems to the industry standards. There are five conditions to meet when designing a compliant viewing booth. • Color Quality: D50 light, which represents natural daylight, is used to view prints, photographs, and other graphic arts applications. To maintain compliance with the standard use only ISO 3664:2009 compliant lamps in your viewing booth. • Light Intensity: Consistent light intensity is critical to consistent image rendition. The standard provides a target intensity designed to allow full tonal visibility of shadow detail without washing out highlights. Color decisions should be under light that is between 1750 and 2250 lux, with 2000 lux being optimum. • Evenness: Even light intensity across an image assures correct interpretation of print/ reproduction quality. Evenness is ensured by measuring illuminance at several evenly distributed points on the viewing surface. Illumination should be at least 1200 lux (60% of 2000) intensity at all points on the viewing surface. • Surround: Surrounding colors and reflectance affect color appearance. ISO 3664:2009 specifies that the surround and backing shall be neutral and matte. Munsell N8/ neutral gray paint is used by GTI Graphic Technology, Inc. (Booth 435). • Geometry: The presence of excessive glare is distracting and can hide reproduction detail. Therefore, the light source, image, and the observer’s eyes need to be positioned to minimize glare. Selecting a viewing booth to meet your requirements is easy. Determine what size viewing area you need, it is recommend that your viewing area be large enough to allow side-by-side comparison of prints and proofs. You should also consider the number of people who will be involved in the viewing process when selecting your viewing station. The easiest and most efficient way to achieve ISO 3664:2009 compliance is to purchase an ISO 3664:2009 compliant viewing station and to maintain it with regular relamping. The result will be fewer proofing cycles, faster customer approvals, better communication between stakeholders, and lower cost. News Print—The Newspaper Pavilion Report manroland web systems (Booth 1267) is still talking about it three months later: Since mid-June, the Walliser Bote daily newspaper in the Swiss region of Valais has been produced completely digitally at Mengis Druck AG in Switzerland-from printing and postpress finishing through the mailroom. Lower circulations and a required regionalization drove Mengis Druck to change its production technology. The new production line also will be used with variable print products. The production of book blocks, mailings, signatures, or print products for personalized advertising are examples cited by Director Martin Seematter. Walliser Bote is published from Monday to Saturday. Present circulation is between 22,000 and 32,000 copies with approximately 24 pages. The publication is being produced in a tabloid format with postal fold and as a broadsheet product in Berliner format. The flexible folding technology of the FoldLine offers new possibilities and productions. Besides the Walliser Bote and additional newspapers, other printed products will be produced. “We will produce our own publications and commercial print products for local customers,“ says Seematter. “At the moment, we are working on changing our company to a local digital printing house for the future.” Thomas Knaier, Project Manager at manroland web systems, adds: “The realization of this project was a great teamwork. The total integration of the workflow that consist of an HP (Booth 1202) T400 Color inkjet press, the format and cut-off variable finishing line FoldLine from manroland web systems, and the mail-order house technology from Muller Martini, was a groundbreaking project that also meant a lot of fun for us. The cooperation of all the involved partners with Mengis Druck AG will be kept in our minds for a long time. The schedule was tight but together we could realize it. As promised in the contracts that have been signed in January 2015, we went into production according to plan.” Upgrades and reconfiguring Advance Central Services Alabama (ACSA), printer of publications such as The Mobile Press Register and The Birmingham News, mid-year had completed the first of three phases of a multi-phase electrical controls upgrade to its Geoman press in Mobile. Included in this were upgrades to server hardware, and controllers for printing units, reel splicers, and folders. The Pecom-X concept, including hardware and software, not only increases effectiveness to the controls, it also enhances the capability to analyze production and performance data in real-time. One of the most critical component retrofits is the replacement of the obsolete Interbus LOOP components and the integration of its sensors and actuators without interrupting the daily production schedule. This system consists of five different types of components and one master interface. This upgrade will stabilize functionality of ink level sensors, web break detectors, and several other areas of the press. Additionally, manroland web systems was selected by ACSA to relocate and reconfigure a nine-tower Regioman press to be installed in its Print Center. This press is being added to existing equipment to enhance and increase the commercial printing capabilities and an enhanced format flexibility at the plant. “The complexities of relocating a press demands accurate planning, extensive preparation, and professional execution,” says manroland web systems’ service Director Mark Sievers, “With all of these things in place, the installation can be carried out quickly, so that production can restart as soon as possible with the relocated equipment.” Installation of the controls upgrades as well as the Regioman press equipment will be completed in Q4. 54 September 16, 2015 | GRAPH EXPO Official Show Daily | PrintingNews.com
GraphExpo Show Daily September 16, 2015
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